Electric power is important as means for supplying energy, and a power failure due to supply shortage has been a problem caused by excessive electric power consumption. For example, the supplier's side cannot deal with a large consumption of electric power for air conditioning during summer, thereby causing a power failure in a particular region. A technology has been proposed which corrects such an unbalance between supply and demand of electric power and, furthermore, optimizes a balance between supply and demand of general energy including electric power by means of IT (Information Technology) which fully utilizes networks and computers.
In particular, in recent years, restrictions on business of selling electricity from a power producer and supplier (PPS) to any consumers are removed. Hence, in electric power supply, business providing new additional services attractive to customers has been sought. Under such circumstances, there is a demand, for technology to optimize electric power supply and demand, and improve the convenience of customers, and such technology has been being proposed.
In such proposals, electrical devices and electric power systems for a general-purpose power source or a house have been known which prevent as much as possible supply interruption of a supply line having a high order of priority set by a manager or a resident (see Patent Documents 1 to 8). For example, in Patent Document 1, an overload prevention control device is disclosed in which an electric apparatus having the lowest order of priority is first detached from a power source. Further, in Patent Document 2, a control device is disclosed which performs interruption according to the order of presettable priority of device interruption when the contract demand with an electric power company is exceeded.
However, for an electric power system for collective housing composed of a single or a plurality of buildings, or for an electric power system for a developing area, such as a narrow housing developing area within several hundred meters, in which a plurality of buildings are dispersed and scattered, an appropriate system for preventing as much as possible supply interruption of a supply line having a high order of the abovementioned priority has not been proposed. Specifically, in a conventional system shown in, for example, FIG. 4 (a conventional system for supplying electric power to collective housing composed of a single building through a plurality of supply lines and managing the electric power), interruption means C for an electric power distribution line not having remote interruption means are only provided in a switchboard 16 of a residence section 14 of a resident for protecting overcurrent. Hence, it has been difficult to prevent as much as possible supply interruption of a supply line having a high order of priority. It has been known that an individual resident of a collective housing may place a device described in Patent Document 1 or 2 in a residence section. However, a system capable of providing flexibility to interruption conditions for allowing the conditions to be freely set through the Internet has not been proposed.
The present applicant has proposed an electric power meter suitable for a system which supplies electric power to collective housing composed of a single or a plurality of buildings through a plurality of supply lines and manages the electric power. This electric power meter is suitable for controlling a balance between supply and demand of electric power through utilizing IT (Information Technology) (see Patent Document 9). However, any specific system has not been proposed which has this electric power meter applied to an electric power system of collective housing composed of a single or a plurality of buildings to thereby prevent as mush as possible supply interruption of a supply line having a high order of priority individually set by a resident.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 57-130543 “OVERLOAD PREVENTION CONTROL DEVICE”, Kitatani Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 3-285518 “ELECTRIC POWER CONTROL DEVICE FOR HOUSEHOLD ELECTRIC APPLIANCE”, NEC Corporation
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 11-341707 “REMOTE AUTOMATIC POWER SOURCE SWITCHING DEVICE”, RONIKKU Co., Ltd.
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-83323 “POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”, MIYAMOTO ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-13933 “CONTROL SWITCHBOARD”, NEC Engineering, Ltd.
Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-319572 “ELECTRIC POWER CONTROL SYSTEM FOR INDOOR EQUIPMENT”, Nippon Telegram and Telephone Corporation.
Patent Document 7: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-320849 “POWER SOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”, NEC Fielding, Ltd.
Patent Document 8: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-129477“LOAD LIMITING DEVICE”, Dainichi Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Patent Document 9: Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-293336“METHOD FOR MEASURING AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC POWER USAGE AND ELECTRIC POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM” INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BANK CORP.